PTSD Training for PCPs in a Virtual World

The overall goal of this project is improve access to and engagement in quality care for military service personnel and Veterans suffering with posttraumatic stress (PTS). Veterans who have PTS symptoms after military service are often resistant to referrals to mental health care because of the warrior culture of stoicism coupled with the stigma of seeking mental health care. Also, Veterans living in rural or remote areas may not have access to trained mental health professionals. Thus, Veterans often present to their primary care providers with symptoms of PTS and related physical problems. Unfortunately, most primary care providers have not been trained to care for Veterans with PTS or communicate with them in ways that motivate them to engage in care. This can result in missed opportunities to intervene to prevent what may become chronic mental and physical health problems in the future, which affect not only the warfighter, but also their families, partners and children.

In a prior project funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), study investigators created and tested a web-based training program to teach primary care providers about how to assess for and manage PTS which proved successful in a small pilot study. Nevertheless, primary care providers who participated in the training reported that the training was not interactive and engaging enough and about 30% did not complete it. Moreover, the pilot study did not use gold standard methods to measure study outcomes and because project stakeholders, namely the Veterans Administration (VA) and the DoD, did not participate in the development of the training, investigators were not able to easily implement and disseminate it to primary care clinicians who work in these healthcare systems.

Virtual World technology is a three-dimensional immersive and highly interactive online experience in which users enter virtual environments as self-styled representations of themselves, known as avatars. Virtual Worlds are used in some of the most popular and engaging commercially-available video games. Virtual World technology is also increasingly being used for educational activities, particularly in learning about mental health problems and communication techniques. This is because experiences like mental health symptoms such as re-experiencing or intrusive thoughts (flashbacks) can be simulated, and participants (as avatars) can practice and receive feedback on new communication skills without feeling self-conscious. Learners can also practice motivational interviewing techniques such as using a stylized virtual scale to literally weigh the pros and cons (represented as blocks) of a particular behavior change. These interactive activities afforded by Virtual World technology can be used to make the learning experience far more memorable and enduring.

In this study, investigators propose to design, test and prepare to implement a Virtual World PTS and Motivational Interviewing training by taking the following steps: (1) partner with stakeholders to iteratively design the training so that is responsive to stakeholder needs and takes full advantage of the affordances of Virtual World technology to enhance training interactivity, effectiveness, and durability, (2) add a more robust evaluation component, including a randomized control trial with stronger provider and patient outcomes to achieve more valid results, and (3) summarize findings and prepare for implementation and dissemination of the new training by soliciting feedback from primary care providers who participated in the training and from original project stakeholders.